Kinasi Lodge

Failed on expectations! The booking office didn't even mention that the rooms were not air conditioned!. In this part of Africa, in this season, at this price!!!! It was purely too high a price, just because of new year. Hotel doesn't even maintain pedestal fans in the common areas such as bar, restaurant or sitting area. Si people are just dripping of sweat through the day! Only respite is small fan on top of your bed. So you are forced to go back to your room, soon after you leave it for 1 -2 hrs. Power disruption on island is also a problem and their genset backup wasn't the best so there is always a lag. Food was good (chef is top class) , Hotel staff was really good and took really good care to make your stay pleasant. Location is also good. Summers, lack of breeze, no air conditioning in the lodge was the big disappoin**ent.

An exceedingly disappointing break at this overpriced supposed boutique hotel with its unique cuisine. Regrettably that was not the case this time as the cuisine could only be described as unappetising and semi edible or inedible. This may well be refuted but is FACT borne out by the others there at the time. It seems this situation is ongoing having been the subject of previous reviews. There are dozens of similar establishments in East Africa offering far better value for money and certainly much better cuisine.

Great boutique resort. Fantastic bungalow - our tip is China. Good food and wonderful setting. Really attentive service with a smile and nothing too much trouble. Food was good and drink prices very reasonable - would definitely return.

We stayed for 5 nights after safari to dive on Mafia. The hotel was lovely in a great location and with very comfortable, large bungalows with lovely views from the balconies. Food was good - no choice on the dinner menu but diets were catered for. The hotel was exactly what we wanted with a personal service from friendly staff, laid back vibe and beautiful location. We loved the massages nearly as much the cocktails. The view was spectacular. Some rooms have aircon and others have fans so, if you have a preference, it's worth checking. Good excursions but better information would have been helpful at times. One downside was the metal roof for each bungalow which made the falling seed pods etc at night very noisy. However, we weren't ready to leave and would have loved to has stayed longer.

Hello out there! My daughter and I returned from Tanzania yesterday and had a perfect mix of safari and diving/relaxation with Peter at his Kinasi Lodge. I just have to praise Peter! He's the brilliant old-school gentleman who makes you feel at home from the moment you walk in. It didn't take 3 minutes and he introduced us to all the other guests, who were all great. If there are negative reviews complaining about the food, I would suggest that you have to keep in mind that we are on a small African island with 15 beautiful bungalows and not in a 1000 bed all inclusive bunker in Hurgadha , where the buffet overflows every day. We were very enthusiastic about the a**osphere, the great diving spots and the landscape. Many thanks to Peter and his team!

Beautiful hotel in the palms, view on the sea, very clean, nice and keen staff diving guide Gideon and crew excellent! Sadly the food was disastrious, meat and fish totally inedible, always overcooked, everyday the same awful deserts. Instead of buffet or à-la-carte the menus were presented just like in a school cantine. the waiters/waitresses were very friendly and keen but the problem was the owner: Peter Brian. He was extremely arrogant and aggressive. Instead of apologising and searching for a solution, he cut my word, was unfriendly and incooperative. Sadly he didnt teach his staff in cooking. this 5-star hotel could have been a pure joy but with such bad food and arrogant owner; price and performance didnt match at all. We have to discurage all our friends to visit this hotel!

We (2 adults and 2 children (10 and 12)) Had the most magic stay at this wonderful place on earth! We had the family bungalow shiraz which is great with two bedrooms divided by a bathroom. Great location with seaview and short distance to evrything. Kinasi is a magical quite place. The only sounds you hear is the sounds of birds and insects (not to many:-)). I loved walking in smal pathways. The service was exeptional good, both from the owner and the people working there. Both me and my husband had birthday while we were there and they really made it special. The food was really good. You have to be aware (we were) that it is a set menu and you have no choice. This was not a problem for us when the food was so good. We had 3 night served to the table, one buffet night, and one BBQ at the beach (amazing). We had prepared the children about this before we went, and I`m glad we did. The owner asked us how the kids liked the food, and we said that they were doing fine, but if they could choose they would probably had pizza every day. Then he responded with - lets make pizza tomorrow:-)! And they did. That’s extra service! Thank you Peter! We had lots of fresh seafood, and we loved it. We were on whale shark safari 2 days, and that was absolutelutely amazing. We had arround 8 “jumps” snorkeling with whale sharks, and it will be a memory for life! Beach: The beach is great and beautiful, and we had it for our self everytime we were there. Someone have written here that there is no beach because of low tide (all the time???), but that’s not true at all. When its low time is very shallow (but still there) but when its not low tide its fantastic. If I had small children I would also low the beach. We used the pool a lot, and we were often by our self. It was good service every time we asked for something at the pool. Some tips: keep the receipts you get when you pay the Marine Park Fee because you have to deliver it when you leave the “gate”. Be aware that there is small insects in paradise, but we didn’t have problems with to many of them. Thank you Peter and staff for making our stay, fun, magic and fantastic! We would love to come back!

Good afternoon! Terrible HOTEL OWNER PETER BYRNE! I hope that my review will help dear readers when choosing a hotel on Mafia Island. Below I will describe the most unpleasant moments that happened to me and my family during 8 days in this hotel (January 2023) 1). Entrance doors with slotted openings (doors of such a design as blinds), through which completely different insects penetrate in the evening. There were such nights that there were insanely many insects, she even crawled through the canopy into the bed. This is completely unacceptable for a 4* hotel! 2). There was a pack of dogs on the property throughout our stay (8 days) every day! Thank you very much to the caring gardeners who cut the grass and protected me and my little children from these evil dogs! On the last day, we were attacked by 5 dogs right next to our room, the little son walked ahead of me to the pool, he was attacked by a dog! And 4 more dogs ran up to me and my daughter and started barking loudly. All the staff who worked on the territory of the hotel ran to save us, someone threw stones at the dogs, someone with garden hoes to clean the grass! The only INDIFFERENT person to this situation is the HOTEL OWNER PETER BYRNE, who during the 8 days of our stay did not take any measures to make our stay in the territory of HIS hotel safe!!! And if you imagine that protecting from dogs and throwing a garden chopper at a dog, the staff hits my four-year-old son with a chopper??? After all, the dog was a few centimeters away from his son! This is unacceptable in a 4* hotel! 3). Husband's sandals, which he left under a lounger next to the pool, were stolen! HOTEL OWNER PETER BYRNE only pretended to take steps to find them! And he promised to look into the situation every day! There are no sandals! How can this be in a 4* hotel? 4). There is no refrigerator in the room. This caused a lot of inconvenience. I could not store the food and drinks I needed. But!!! Most importantly, I also could not store medicines that require storage in the refrigerator in my room! I had to store it in the refrigerator, which was only at the bar. Those. every morning my child and I had to get up, go to the restaurant area, ask the staff to get my medicine from the refrigerator, give it to my daughter, then again ask to put it in the refrigerator. Performing these procedures in front of other guests and staff caused discomfort to me and my daughter. And then we had to go back to our room again, brush our teeth, because the medicines are instilled on an empty stomach, immediately after waking up from sleep. And so 8 days in a row! 5). You can enjoy the ocean only either early in the morning, or from 18:00 to 19:00. The rest of the day is low tide! The water goes too far!

Charming and peaceful. Great food and a great wine fridge! Impeccable staff. Perfect for diving and snorkelling, And they arranged a trip for us to swim with whale sharks - a lifetime dream! Our room was beautiful and we slept so well. We felt so well rested. Loved it.